Speaker Measurement Hardward Recs for Linux

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Hi, all,

SHORT VERSION: Someone please tell me what hardware to buy to use Vituix CAD (and other FOSS speaker measurement stuff) under Linux. I mean, really. I don't need links. I can do the googling. But just tell me what to buy, please! Cost is not a major issue but isn't irrelevant.

LONG VERSION: I'm just getting into building speakers but am already feeling pretty serious about it. I've done a fair bit of building of preamps, headphone amps, etc. I'm a pretty good woodworker. too, so it's been fun to merge these two projects. So I'm getting to a point I may want to build some very nice speakers.

Project One was the SEAS-CURV monitors from Troels Gravesen. They aren't quite done but look gorgeous. (Cherry veneer over MDF. Pix to follow.)

Project Two may well be the Ulawatu speakers from Curt Campbell. My wife is learning to play percussion, so these could work really well in her practice system. (I.e., they play loud.) Looking at the measured response, though, it looks to me like I may want to measure the response and tweak the crossover. (Bad hump 100-200Hz that might warrant a notch filter.) But I might build something else.

Whatever! Unless I'm just going to continue building kits blindly, I need measurement stuff. I'm a FOSS person---Linux user since 2000 or so---and Vituix CAD looks like a good option from that point of view. But I'm finding it hard to tell what hardware to buy: mics, sound cards, etc. So help?? Cost is not a major issue but isn't irrelevant.

Thanks,
Riki
 
I've been using Unix since 1989 or so. Bought my first laptop in 1999, and my laptop has been running Linux since then. Am on my fifth laptop currently.

I am also a VituixCAD user, and my last four xo designs have been done on it. I don't know how you intend to run VituixCAD on Linux. I use VituixCAD in a virtual machine (VirtualBox) running Win 10, on my Linux host. For box modeling, I use Unibox, again on this virtual machine.

I do all my measurements using the ARTA suite; I use ARTA and STEPS a lot, and LIMP may not be used that much in future because I've got a Dayton DATS now.

I boot into Windows when using ARTA or DATS. It may be possible to do measurements on Linux using REW, but I haven't tried it. I don't know whether REW on Linux will be as good as REW on Windows. And measurements don't work well through a guest OS and virtualisation: you need bare metal.

For LTSpice, I use the Windows virtual machine again.

So I don't know how you can do an entirely FOSS based speaker design and measurement setup. If you find out, I'll be keen to know.
 
You don't need any specific hardware to run VituixCAD in Linux. It's not really a resource heavy software.

It will run in Wine, but you'll need to install dotnet40 to get it going. Easy way out if you can't sort that is to just install windows in a VM, even old WinXP will work just fine.

Just to be clear, VituixCAD doesn't do any measuring. Start by reading the manual and tutorials. You'll need to measure is some other software like REW or ARTA, tutorials available at the developer's site.

Get yourself a calibrated mic - XLR (not USB!) would be my recommendation, build a jig for a true 2-channel measurement. Read through application notes and manual for ARTA is a good place to start..Then break down and install windows to get the job done. REW runs in Linux if you must.
 
I have a Dayton EMM-6 as well as an Omnimic. The USB Omnimic is great for in-room measurements and setting up EQ, for design work of course I use the XLR EMM-6. I wouldn't recommend the Dayton EMM-6 however, although it is inexpensive, the calibration files are BS. Just noisy gibberish, I'm not confident that Dayton knows how to use their calibration equipment. The Omnimic is okay though, I trust its accuracy and generated my own calibration file for the EMM-6 so its measurements matches the Ominimic. Good news with the EMM-6, or at least mine, is that the raw uncalibrated measurements are pretty flat to begin with so it's not completely out to lunch by using it without a calibration at all.

If I were buying again today I'd probably splurge on an Earthworks mic. You could also get the EMM-6 and send it to a place like Cross Spectrum to get a proper calibration file for it. The cheapest alternative to the EMM-6 I've found is the Sonarworks mic, but I can't speak for how good it is or isn't.
 
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Vituix CAD (and other FOSS speaker measurement stuff) under Linux.
VituixCAD is not FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). It is freeware as REW.

REW works fine on Linux with no special hardware. But you need sound card with good Linux support, measurement mic and simple circuit (essentially resistor) for measuring impedance.
I assume VituixCAD also works fine with WINE.

But it is probably easier with DATS, ... on Windows.
 
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